Linda looked up at him while Clark and Lois raised their eyebrows and Jimmy scowled at Lex before heading back to his desk. Linda noticed and gave a small smile to Lex. “I’m flattered, Lex,” she said, “but I can’t accept your proposal.”

“Bad timing?” Lex asked.

“You could say that,” Linda replied. She glanced past Lex to Jimmy, who sat at his desk, flipping through photos. She looked back at Lex. “I happen to be seeing someone at the moment.”

“It would just be a harmless dinner,” Lex replied.

“Linda, I think he lied to you,” Perry said as gently as he could. He could see the hurt cross Linda’s face. “I’m sorry, honey.”

Tears welled up in Linda’s eyes as she tried not to cry. “I, uh, I have some work to do. Excuse me.” She left the office abruptly, heading for the door to the stairwell, not able to look toward Jimmy, though he didn't notice her leaving anyway. She had a lot of thinking to do about what Perry said to her, and the last place she wanted to be was around a person who had just hurt her more than she thought possible.

So, what they said. Lex II - don't trust him as far as I could throw a decent-sized pony.

Well, it looks like I was right. Jimmy not knowing *is* causing problems. I felt so sorry for Linda.

and Part 4 and 5, since I'm leaving town for a couple of days